Life in Rural America

Tag: firearms for shtf

Stockpiling supplies at the bug out location? Let’s take a few minutes and talk about what are some essential supplies to have at the bug out location.

The goal of stockpiling essential supplies at the bug out location is to help the family after a SHTF/ Doomsday event. We want to make the family members feel safe, secure, and have the bug out location feel like a home away from home.

One way to achieve the “home away from home” feeling is by making trial runs to the bug out location. For example, use holidays and long weekends at a remote cabin or hunting camp to practice bugging out. Once at the bug out location, observe what items will the family use most. Take books for example, what types of books will various family members read?

At the hunting camp my family uses, we have a wide assortment of hunting and fishing magazines. Those types of books are mostly read by the guys. While on the other hand my daughter likes puzzle books, such as crossword puzzles.

Bug Out Location Supplies

When it comes to an all around SHTF survival firearm, there is no better choice than the pump shotgun. No other firearm is as versatile as the shotgun. No other firearm can go from snake protection, to hunting deer or hogs, to hunting squirrels like the shotgun.

We live in an era of firearms where tacticool is the name of the game. Fanboy clubs have popped up where only the best of the best is good enough. Then it is a pissing match to see who can have the coolest toys on their firearms. This translates to who can have the best optic, the best trigger, the best light,,, etc. In other words, firearm ownership has turned into a competition to see who can invest the most money into their toys.

Then there is the classic pump shotgun. Nothing fancy, no light, no optic, maybe not even a sling. There is something about the shotgun, how simplistic it is, how timeless it is.

Tactical vs Hunting Shotgun

When the crap hits the fan what accessories would you want on your AR-15?

For OPSEC and to keep our name off extra paperwork lets ignore silencers and short barreled rifles.

Silencers may play an important role in surviving a Post-SHTF world, but paperwork is also an OPSEC issue. Anyone having access to the right paperwork will know exactly who has a silencer and who has a short barreled rifle. Then there are the local, state and federal laws and restrictions.

For the sake of discussion and to keep things simple, lets just exclude anything that requires paperwork.

Iron Sights

The art of shooting with open sights is a dying pastime. In todays world with so many reflex and red dot optics on the market who needs to use old fashioned iron sights?

After its release in 1990 the 40 Smith & Wesson quickly shot to fame. For survivalist the 40 S&W was like a gift from GOD. The 40 S&W was effective, just about every gun maker had something listed in 40 S&W, ammunition was widely available, there are even some carbines offered in 40 S&W. What is there not to like?

What niche did the 40 S&W fill

The 40 S&W offered a viable option for law enforcement who wanted a heavier bullet than the 9mm, or more rounds than the 45 acp, and without the slow reload of the revolver in 357 magnum.

The cartridge also offered a middle ground between 15 rounds of 9mm and the 7 rounds of 45acp 230 grain bullet.

Demand for the 40 S&W

The FBI testing helped prove the effectiveness of the 40 S&W.

Fueled in part by the FBI test, police departments all over the nation adopted the 40 S&W as their standard sidearm caliber.

Further fueling demand came from the wide range of manufacturers who jumped into the 40 S&W market with both feet. By the end of the 1990s it seemed that just about every major gun manufacturer on the planet had something to offer in 40 S&W.